Chapter 308: Rita Is Overworked
Rita was numb.
Literally numb. Her body, her mind—both were caught in a dull haze. At this point, she was operating entirely on autopilot. She couldn't think about anything except the endless stream of tasks she had to mechanically carry out.
Part of it was due to the never-ending chain of tasks scheduled down to the second, squeezing out nearly every ounce of her free time.
But the real blow came from the Central Core system—a system that had completely crushed everything she had ever learned, everything she once believed made her competent.
To this day, Rita still didn't understand how the system actually worked. All she knew was this: the Central Core could be installed in the imperial palace and regional government offices, and once installed, it would generate eerily lifelike artificial human avatars. These avatars would receive incoming issues, then—in the blink of an eye—provide detailed, optimal solutions. Local magistrates and governors would verify the decisions, and if approved, the solution would be immediately implemented.
Most of the Central Core's directives were flawless. The rare few that contained errors were instantly corrected once flagged by officials. And the incredibly rare edge cases—the ones too complex to judge—were escalated to Rita for final decision… or to Sigurd if she couldn't handle them.
Its efficiency was otherworldly. It could process information across the entire empire in real time. It knew no corruption, no sloth, no internal politicking. In short—it was the perfect tool for governance.
In the beginning, Rita was able to deploy about a dozen Core terminals a day. Then it became hundreds. After just two weeks, over half the Huang Empire had active installations. Eventually, though, progress began to slow—not because of flaws in the system, but because the transportation infrastructure simply wasn't fast enough, and they had run out of competent bureaucrats capable of reviewing the Core's decisions.
Rita didn't know where Sigurd and Senti had come from, nor what their ultimate goal was. Perhaps, as Senti said when they first met, they truly were immortals from some mythical plane?
But what Rita did know was that just from the Central Core alone, she had experienced a suffocating, absolute sense of powerlessness.
After its implementation, a massive number of civil servants were dismissed. Rita had anticipated a wave of political unrest, but almost simultaneously, every single one of those people was dealt with accordingly: those deserving of execution were executed, those worthy of prison went to prison, and the rest were reassigned. All without a single drop of military intervention.
The entire process was unnaturally smooth—no riots, no chaos, no resistance.
The Core had replaced the imperial bureaucracy, a structure that had lasted for a thousand years. Rita feared a civilian uprising, but the new system quickly won over the populace with its unmatched problem-solving ability and a people-first approach. Now, almost everyone preferred going to the Core to solve their problems.
Agricultural reforms spread like wildfire. Infrastructure projects bloomed. Public education systems launched. The entire nation began changing at an unbelievable pace, day by day.
And the greatest threat of all—retaliation from the nobles, merchants, and landowners—was swiftly crushed by General Durandal's military forces.
Reportedly, this was a completely new kind of army: revolutionary in its training, ideological structure, and management. It even had access to something called the "Hall of Heroic Spirits," which granted miraculous rebirth to fallen soldiers.
Rita didn't know the details. She didn't have time to know. All she was aware of was that this new military force was now engaged in large-scale bandit suppression operations across the empire.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Prime Minister, here is your next batch of assignments: twenty-three tasks personally designated by His Majesty, and thirteen contested documents forwarded by the Central Core. Please complete all of them by sunset today."
"…Put them on my desk… Wait."
Rita's voice was tired, nearly lifeless—until her eyes fell on one line in a report.
"This says Lady Fu Hua has been dispatched to arrest the Crown Prince?"
The long-haired female clerk, dressed in a traditional cheongsam and generated by the Core itself, nodded gracefully.
"Correct. This was a directive issued by His Majesty Sigurd. Also, that individual is no longer considered Crown Prince—he is now merely a civilian with rumored capabilities."
Rita's dulled expression finally cracked.
"…I request an audience with His Majesty."
"His Majesty will grant you an audience before sunset—but only if you've completed today's tasks."
"…So the time between finishing my work and sunset is all I get with him?"
The female attendant smiled and nodded. Her refined beauty made her presence almost soothing.
Bang!
"Tch—!"
Rita slammed her palm on the desk, took a sharp breath, then dove into the stack of memorials and official documents.
What else could she do?
As a "delicate young lady" who could probably take on ten thousand men if she tried hard enough, Rita had no real options besides obedience.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Driven by concern for her close friend, Rita somehow coaxed her overworked brain back into high gear. By racing through her tasks, she managed to finish just before sunset—carving out roughly an hour of audience time for herself.
She then made her way deep into the palace. Her usually immaculate, silky hair was slightly disheveled, her ornate official robes—designed to accentuate her elegance without losing their formality—were wrinkled, her face was pale, and faint dark circles hung under her eyes.
She pushed open the grand chamber doors, her gaze unfocused. The first thing she saw were countless floating screens illuminating the air.
But the moment she stepped in, those dazzling light projections vanished like mist.
Rita had prepared many things to say. But standing there, everything she'd been bottling up—fatigue, frustration, unease—flooded through her all at once.
The world seemed to blur.
Her knees buckled. She had to brace herself against the doorway to keep from collapsing. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, her breath shallow and trembling.
Sigurd emerged from the center of the hall. Without saying a word, he grabbed her collar and effortlessly lifted her onto a seat inside the room. Then, he handed her a cup filled with a glowing red liquid.
"Drink."
Sigurd sat across from her, his voice as flat and casual as ever.
Rita didn't even try to weigh the pros and cons, or ask what it was. She obediently downed it in one gulp. After all, if Sigurd wanted to harm her, there was nothing she could do to stop him anyway.
"…Hm? It's sweet?"
She set the cup down and gently covered her lips, the taste lingering in her mouth—refreshing, fragrant, and unexpectedly pleasant. Even her aching body and clouded mind began to feel a sense of lightness.
"Is this... medicine?"
"More or less. It's a nutritional supplement, meant to help your body recover."
"…Then, thank you for Your Majesty's gracious gift."
"Don't mention it. You're clearly at your limit. If you don't recover, you'll be useless going forward."
The blunt response made Rita's eye twitch slightly.
So many thoughts rushed through her head… but in the end, they condensed into one simple word: Fuck.
She sank deeper into the chair, letting out a long sigh.
Say what you will about Sigurd's methods, but at the very least, Rita had transitioned from reluctant obedience to genuine conviction.
She still couldn't imagine what the future would look like once the Central Core system was fully deployed across the entire empire—but the changes so far had already felt like something out of a dream.
Just imagining a nation governed with perfect efficiency… what kind of strength would it wield? How happy could its people be?
Even if it meant tossing away everything she'd ever learned—her studies, her pride—Rita felt it would be worth it.
But today, she hadn't come to talk about that.
After a brief silence, Rita gathered her courage.
"I heard Your Majesty has ordered Lady Fu Hua to apprehend Zhuge Kongming. Might I ask… what is the intent behind this command?"